Vector Messing around, Q. Cassetti.Working away. Sending all sorts of illustration derivative projects out…they come back, I amend, they go out again, I amend, they go out, they come back…you get the idea. And, inch by inch, sketch by sketch, we get closer and closer to finish! Now, to the holday card that is not “holiday”, a portrait and a pile of thises and thats.

Having a little time to be stupid has lasting postitive effects. I am feeling energetic and “can do” unlike the last 3 months. Time off is no longer a “nice” but a necessity. A day or two more would have erased my brain enough that I might be able to think in a fresh manner again. Just when I was so stunned, I thought I would never be jazzed up again, I cracked open this book yesterday…and away we go.

I am looking at the work of David Lance Goines (b.1945) ( David Lance Goines Posters 1970-1994 from Ten Speed Press) and am challenged and excited by his work. I think we graphic designers claim Goines more than the illustration community…so as hybrid to hybrid, I am happy to wallow through his enormous body of posters with his lovely, bibliophile inspired layouts and colorways, and the pile of work that he cranked out on a regular and consistent basis. Goines came to posters through publishing, running his own letterpress shop (waaaay before it was as chic as it is now)—Saint Hieronymus Press (1968) and getting into poster making to showcase his loves and passions in the most exquisite way. My attraction comes from his deep understanding of classic page design, typography and form that is the quiet underpinnings to his elegant work. To see some examples>> I love his link and gifts of image to Alice Waters and her Chez Panisse Restaurant. Goines put a face on that extrordinary enterprise…crafted as finely as her cuisine. Another prompt to keep working with the local food producer community here…it DOES add up.

I am working with a big fat pen, a big juicy pentel whiteout pen (Presto!) and seeing how fast, how bold, how graphic I can go…could be fun. Maybe some barley, some grains…Maybe some florals and birds. Little miss fluffybug. That’s me. Line work and flat color…really basic stuff would be cool. Need a little illo vacation..a style change might do the trick.

Rain promises. Rob is in Toledo. Alex will be running. The CSA promises tiny turnips, carrots and lettuce. I think I might cook a bit (and freeze a bit) tonight. I am feeling the energy.